of new yokk



UNITED STAES M. L. BYRN, 0F NEV YORK, N. Y.

CORKSCREW.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, M. L. BYRN, of No. 66 Nassau street, in the cit county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Corkscrews; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part. of this speciication, in which drawings the invention is clearly shown by one figure, representing` the screw and handle.

The object of this invention is to manufacture cork screws possessing greater strength and durability and which may be made andL sold at a less cost than those of the present construction.

My invention consists in combining' with the gimlet screw a T handle and forming the handle and screw in one or in two pieces as will be hereinafter described and represented.

The greatest advantage obtained by my invention, in the combination with an ordinary gimlet-screw of a handle making it serve thereby as a cork-screw, is strength and cheapness, over those made with a spiral twist of steel wire gradually tapering from the handle to the point. Such cork screws can be made to enter a cork with suthcient ease, but they are very liable to break olf in drawing the cork from the bottle in consequence of the smallness and brittleness of the wire forming the spiral stem, and too in the hurry of opening bottles the screw is not always driven straight into the cork7 and the small point is very likely broken off by coming in Contact with the neck of the bottle, besides such screws are used for breaking the wire which is used on many bottles for keeping the cork from being driven out by the force of gas in the bottle,

such screws are not strong enough. for this purpose and are frequently broken by the carelessness of servants in using them for other purposes than drawing corks from bottles.

My invention represented in the drawings consists of the usual gimletshaped handle, A, secured to or made to form a part of the screw stem, B, on which is out a screw, C, terminating in a point, and very similar to what is known as the gimlet screw, but the threads of t-he screw, instead of being made as close together, and as small as those to be used for wood, they should be made much larger, farther apart and wider, so that they will have a better hold on the cork; the stem of the screw from the termination of the threads to the handle should be made quite long so that the screw may be driven well into the cork, and so that the hand will be protected from coming in Contact with the mouth of the bottle.

The handle may be formed in one solid piece with the metal screw and stem, or it may be a separate piece, and secured to the stem in the usual way, or it may be made of wood and riveted to the stem.

This cork-screw, it will thus be seen, possesses much greater strength than those of the present make, while it will serve both for cutting the wire from bottles requiring wire to keep the corks in place, and for drawing the corks out. It will not be near so likely to break in using it, and it will enter a cork compressed tightly in the neck of the bottle with greater readiness and be less liable to break the cork than the ordinary helical screw.

This screw will remove a cork with facility from the smallest vial, which cannot be done with the wire cork-screw, owing to its shape. It will remove a bung, made of the hardest wood, from a barrel or hogshead, the screw will readily take hold on it, and it will also answer the purpose of a gimlet to make an air-hole.

Having thus described my invention what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

The combined giinlet-screw and handle formed in the manner and for the purposes herein described, as a new article of manufacture.

M. L. BYRN.

Vitnesses:

G. M. HUGHES, M. M. LIVINGSTON. 

